Virtually all "isms" are the same ( with the notable exceptions being true libertarianism and capitalism):

They are simply excuses for one group (usually much smaller) to rule over everyone else.

That's what made the original American experiment so special - it was one of the few attempts to allow people to live their own lives, not have others decide their fates for them. It's a shame - and to our eternal discredit - that we are so far adrift, likely never to recover.

"Under their theology they could automatically divine from the dusty 80 year old writings of Marx what served the interests of the Russian “working class,” without having to ask any actual workers, and in most cases without having to engage in actual work."

This sentence really says everything you need to know.

"Bolshevik leaders (Trotsky in particular) generally had never done a day of honest labor in their lives in any factory or farm; their entire “careers” consisting of political activism."

I agree with this plan in principal, but the media will simply ignore the warnings and then blame the Republicans for the ensuing disaster anyways. At best, they will call it a bi-partisan agreement ("all experts agreed something had to be done...").

Leftism is, at its core, anti-people. Actually, more accurately, it's anti-OTHER people. Leftists believe they have a right to rule over everyone else. That's the one common thread among all of their seemingly inconsistent beliefs, and why they support mass-murdering dictators like Stalin. It's not inconsistent when you simply believe you are right and everyone else is wrong, regardless of the question - crazy, definitely, but not inconsistent.

"I’ll admit this: if, like me, you’re a self-employed person with a marginal income, the Norwegian system is, in many ways, a boon – as long as you’re careful not to get anything much more serious than a cold or flu. "

Isn't it great? "Free" healthcare is glorious - until you really need it.

"One suspects it will become glaringly and grimly apparent over the next four years."

Only to those who think. The bulk of the people - and sadly, the bulk of the voters - will remain in denial over the consequences of their choices and instead blame someone else, anyone else: business, Bush, Republicans, conservatives, anyone but themselves.

It's lose, lose for the people, but win, win for the liberal politicians. Either business picks up the tab for their largesse or, more likely, businesses will dump people and create the clamor for true government health care.